Bill Nebeker

A skilled horseman, a “darn good roper,” a decent guitar picker, and an avid hunter, Bill Nebeker’s varied hobbies and experiences provide him with the inspiration for the stories he tells in his sculptures. Since being inducted into the Cowboy Artists of America (CAA) 40 years ago, and being elected four times as their president, Nebeker has dedicated himself to portraying the American working cowboy and native peoples with respect and honor.

In January 2017 the Desert Caballeros Western Museum in Wickenburg, Arizona, presented Nebeker with the “heArt of the West” Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2016 he won the Express Ranches Great American Cowboy Award at Prix de West, and at the 2016 Briscoe Museum’s Night of Artists Show he won the James Bowie Sculpture Award.

Nebeker’s 7-foot-tall bronze statue The Eyes of Texas is featured in the Briscoe Museum’s McNutt Sculpture Garden. Other museums that feature Nebeker’s sculptures in their permanent collections include the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum; the Booth Western Art Museum; the Cheyenne Old West Museum; the Desert Caballeros Museum; the Eiteljorg Museum; the Museum of Western Art; the Palm Springs Art Museum; the Pearce Museum; the Phippen Western Art Museum; the Phoenix Art Museum; and the Rockwell Museum.